Finding Freeman
by TheZackMan47
Summary: Cory was only 15 when the Metropolice murdered his family in a shakedown attempt. They died but he lived. Now Cory is 18 and a part of the Resistance in City 15 against the Combine, and Cory's enclave has just received word that Gordon has returned...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Cory could hear his mother's screams in the next room. He was in his own room hiding in the closet. He couldn't bear the thought of his mother being beaten and tortured by the Metropolice (the Mets as children such as Cory had come to call them). The darkness of the closet was almost blinding, he had the closet door closed so tightly that no light could sneak through any cracks, he really didn't want the Mets to find him.

"We haven't done anything, just leave us alone!" Cory could hear his father yell. Cory broke out into tears when thrashing noises followed the yell. The Mets were abusing his parents and he couldn't do anything to help it.

"Can't we leave yet?" Cory's younger sister Rebecca asked. "No, not until they're gone," replied a nervous Cory. Rebecca was only five years old; she didn't fully understand what was going on. Cory had hid her in the closet with him for fear of the Mets abusing her as well.

More screams could be heard, and then a sound that Cory would remember for the rest of his life. Cory heard a sound that put an end to the screams of his parents. It was two gunshots, two defining gunshots that put an abrupt end to the existence of his parents. Tears ran down Cory's face as he tried to keep himself and his sister quiet. If the Mets found them, they would also be killed.

After several minutes of silence, Cory had assumed they were gone and it was safe to leave the closet. He slid the door open just a crack and peeked out. Outside the closet he could see that all the stuff in his room had been overturned in the shakedown. Everything was a mess, but there were no Mets in sight. The light that crept into the closet had allowed Rebecca to see Cory's face and how it was covered in tears. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "Nothing, we have to get out of here right now, follow me."

Cory opened the door all the way and made way to his parent's room. In their room, amongst the wreckage, he saw the bodies of his parents. Both contained one bullet hole between their eyes. Cory looked away, back to his sister who had followed Cory. She saw her parents' bodies and ran towards them in tears. She fell to her knees next to her mother's body and began to cry. She was crying so loud that Cory feared that any nearby Mets would hear. He couldn't let them find himself or his sister.

Cory grabbed his sister and pulled her away from their dead mother and put her over his shoulder as he ran for the exit. He opened the apartment door and ran into the hall. Distorted radio chatter made it clear that Mets were nearby. In fact, they were right behind him and they noticed him running down the hall. They turned in his direction and yelled something that Cory did not understand. All Cory knew was if he stopped both himself and his sister was dead, so he kept running down the hall. When the Mets saw that Cory didn't intend to stop, they drew their handguns and began a pursuit.

Cory made it to the stairs and descended them as fast as he could while still carrying his sister. The Mets weren't too far behind, they began to open fire on Cory and his sister as he ran down the stairs. Cory could hear each shot zing by his head, and they only got off a few shots before he made it to the ground floor. Cory ran out the front door of the apartment and into the streets. He noticed a nearby back alley and ran towards it. He hid behind a dumpster with his sister still over his shoulder. He peaked around the dumpster and saw the Mets make it out the apartment. They split up into two groups, one went up the street and the other went down, none of them however noticed the back alley luckily.

Cory had finally made it to general safety; he took his sister off his shoulder, and made a horrid discovery. She had taken four shots into her back. She had been dead for a while now while Cory had been carrying her on his back. Cory knew she was dead, but tried to revive her nevertheless. He gave her mouth-to-mouth, but he didn't really know much beyond what he saw in the movies. After several seconds, he came to accept the fact that his entire family was dead.

He sat next to his baby sister's body and cried. He lost track of time sitting there crying over his sister's body, but it didn't matter to him. He had nothing to live for anymore. After about an hour, he came to his feet and walked down the alley. He didn't know where it leads to, but he didn't care. He was going to find a way to grow up on his own, he was going to find a way to get back at the Mets for what they did to his family.

Under his breath, Cory whispered to himself, "A man with nothing to live for, is a man with everything to fight for…"


	2. Chapter 1: The Enclave

Chapter 1: The Enclave

"Gordon can't be back, he died at Black Mesa." Cory had awoken to more rumors of a hero's return. He was quite frankly getting sick of it. He did hope that Gordon had in fact returned, but he thought to himself that the likelihood of that happening was very slim.

"Guys its getting old, please shut the hell up," said Cory. He would have attempted to go back to sleep, but he was already fully awake so it would be pointless. He climbed down from the top bunk of the bunk bed he shared with his close friend Leon. Leon was still asleep and Cory didn't want to wake him. It was too bad though because the leader of their enclave had just stormed into the sleeping quarters. "Wake up everyone, we got some good news!"

After everyone had been awoken, they were all gathered into the living quarters. Everyone sat on the floor waiting for the leader to make his announcement. He stood up firmly in front of everyone, he said, "it has just been confirmed, Gordon Freeman has in fact returned, he has been spotted trying to board a train to Nova Prospect in City-17."

This sparked several side conversations. This was indeed good news. Gordon had before stopped an entire race in its tracks single handedly, and now he has returned.

"Gordon has come to save us from the Combine reign as I have prophesized!" yelled a random fanatic in the crowd. "He can't save us, he's only one man, what can one man do against an entire Combine armada?" yelled another.

"Quiet down, I just thought I'd let you all know and put an end to the rumors. That is all, dismissed," said the leader, to which he left the room to his quarters.

"You know what this means, right?" whispered Cory to Leon.

"We're not going to City-17 Cory, that's the Combines hometown! And besides, all transportation to City-17 has stopped; no trains enter or leave anymore. Gordon is probably the reason for that!"

"So what? We'll walk it if we have to."

"Why are you so anxious to meet Gordon anyways?"

"He and I have a common enemy, and he's good at killing his enemies."

"Fine, if your going, then I'm going. Why don't you also ask Cindy to come along as well?"

"What are you talking about?"

"C'mon Cory, everyone knows you have a thing for her. That's why all the guys keep their distance from her. Ask her to come with us."

"She won't want to though."

"You don't know that, ask her."

"Fine, but she's probably going to say no."

After the meeting was done, everyone returned to his or her sleeping quarters to gossip about the return of Gordon Freeman. Cory followed Cindy to her quarters.

"Why are you following me?" asked Cindy.

"I wanted to ask you something," replied Cory.

"What is it?"

"Leon and I are going to City-17, and we were wondering if you'd want to come with."

"You mean YOU were wondering if I could come with right?"

"Actually Leon is the one who told me to ask you."

"Well he's a smart guy, he knows when someone likes someone else and should ask them about important stuff like this. How, may I ask, do you plan to get to City-17? All the transportation there has stopped."

"So I've heard, we're going to walk it"

"Do you realize how long it will take to get from City-15 to City-17? This, Gordon character, will probably have ended the fight against the Combine before you can even find him."

"How does everyone know that I want to meet Gordon?"

"Firstly, EVERYONE wants to meet him, and second, its obvious you idolize him, you bought yourself a crowbar just so you could be like him!"

"I just happen to think the crowbar is a stylish and effective weapon!"

"Well then you're going to have to take it with you if you're going to City-17 on foot, the railroads are infested with those, headcrab zombie things. I do assume you plan to take the railroads correct? Any other way is crawling with the Combine or the Mets, and personally I'd sooner take my chances with the zombies."

"Err, yea, of course we're taking the railroad, we're not stupid ya know."

"Did you even make ANY plans on how to get to City-17?"

"No, no we didn't."

"That's just like you Cory, always thinking of the end and never the means, there's no way you'll make it there without me."

"So you're coming with us?"

"That's what I just said dumbass. When are we leaving?"

"Um, tonight, I guess, well sneak out of the enclave tonight."

"Right, I'll meat you in the alley outside at midnight. See ya then!"

With that, Cory left Cindy's sleeping quarters and headed back to his own. Inside he saw Leon already waiting for him. Cory went and sat on the bottom bunk of his bunk bed. "She's coming with us," said Cory.

"I told you she'd come, when are we leaving?"

"We're sneaking out tonight and meeting her at the alley at midnight."

"Cool, in that case, we'd better get some sleep, its only a few hours until midnight, I get top bunk tonight."

Leon climbed into the top bunk and immediately fell asleep. It took Cory a little longer however. For the longest time he laid in bed just staring and thinking. He thought about that day 3 years ago when he was fifteen and lost his entire family to the Mets. He remembered seeing his dead parents lying in their room among all the wreckage that was left behind. He remembered seeing his dead sister lying next to the dumpster. Since that time, even though he's joined with the Resistance against the Combine, he's never had a chance to carry out a single act of revenge against the Combine or even the Mets. He wanted to kill them; he wanted to kill them bad. This was going to be his chance he thought. This adventure he was about to embark on would be his chance to carry out revenge on those who had taken his family from him. Only a few hours from now he'd be walking the streets, making his way to his personal hero, Gordon Freeman.

Cory closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy slumber. He dreamt of gouging out a Mets' eyes with his thumbs, letting the blood flow down his hands. The uneasiness was gone and comfort then set into place.


	3. Chapter 2: The Streets

Chapter 2: The Streets

Cindy was already waiting for the two men in the alley behind the enclave. She had only been waiting for a few minutes when they emerged from the darkness. "Cindy, you out there?" called out Cory, trying not to be to loud though, however. "I'm over here," replied Cindy, stepping out into the moonlight. "Are we ready to go?" she asked.

"We sure are, how do we get to the railroads from here?" asked Leon.

"We can use the back alleys to head north from here, once we get to the train station, we can walk the railroad that leads to City-17, it should be vacant," said Cory.

"Alright, lets-" Cindy was cut off. A hissing noise overhead had interrupted her. The three looked up and Leon yelled out "It's a shell! Cover!"

The Combine had obviously discovered the Resistance enclave that Cory, Leon, and Cindy had resided at, and decided to shell it out. The Combine strategically packed ordinary capsule shells with headcrabs, effectively used to clear out any location that the Combine saw as a threat.

The shell flew over their heads and smashed directly into the roof of the building. Screams could be heard inside, and after a few seconds they would be muffled as headcrabs would soon be covering the faces of all those that were inside.

"Run!" yelled Cindy.

The three of them ran only a few steps when they realized that their building wasn't the only one that was being shelled. As they looked up, they could see that hundreds of shells were gliding overhead. They started smashing down into all the buildings around them.

The three of them continued running. They didn't stop to look back. Debris from broken buildings was falling all around them as they ran. They did their best to avoid major chunks but couldn't help dodge the smaller objects.

They made it to the end of the alley and stopped to catch their breath. They outran the destruction but were now presented with new problems. Headcrabs were now creeping all throughout the alleys. As they looked behind them, one had emerged from the shadows and into the moonlight. It was slowly crawling towards Cindy.

Being unarmed, she was frozen with fear. To most, a headcrab isn't anything to be afraid of, but that usually because everyone is armed with something, but Cindy wasn't. The headcrab stopped about ten paces in front of Cindy; she knew this was because he was getting ready to leap up and attach himself to her face, making her a zombie.

As she predicted, the headcrab made its leap. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. She heard a bashing noise, but nothing happened to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the headcrab lying on its back dead in the alley. She wondered what had happened and looked to Cory and Leon for an answer. However it was evident what had happened when she noticed the bloody crowbar in Cory's hand. He really did decide to bring it with him on the journey.

"Thanks," said Cindy.

"It was nothing, you'd have done the same," said Cory.

"That was super cool and everything guys, but we seriously need to go now," said Leon.

Cory and Cindy saw Leon's reasoning behind this when they saw that the alley was now populated with about twenty headcrabs. Cory couldn't kill them all, so the three of them turned on their heels and ran again. Luckily for them, these were the regular fat headcrabs, they were easy to outrun, were there any fast headcrabs in the bunch, and they'd be dead for sure.

After exhausting themselves from running, they had put a safe distance between themselves and the headcrabs. When they slowed down and caught their breath, Cindy thought it was time to let Cory have it.

"What were you thinking bringing your crowbar!? If the Combine or the Mets see you with that, they'll shoot you on sight! They'll also shoot anyone they see you're with! I don't want to die just because you wanted to bring your fucking crowbar!"

"Calm down Cindy, last I checked, this "fucking crowbar" saved your life, you should be more thankful," replied Cory.

"Oh yes, thank you for sparing me a horrible painful death just so I can die a little less painfully," said Cindy sarcastically.

"She does have a point you know," said Leon.

"Listen guys, if any Combine or Mets find us, I'll just kill them, it's that easy," said Cory.

Leon just couldn't take it anymore; he was tired of Cory always thinking he was Gordon Freeman. "Your not Gordon Freeman! Your not Gordon and you never will be! So stop pretending to be him! You can't kill a mass of Mets with just a crowbar! That's something only Gordon could do and you're not him!" snapped Leon.

Cory suddenly felt very hurt. He saw Leon's point, but he felt Leon presented it a bit harshly. Nevertheless, even if it made Cory look like somewhat of a poser, he had to keep the crowbar anyway for protection.

"Okay guys, we'll just have to stay out of sight because I'm not leaving it behind, it's the only protection we have."

"Okay fine," said Cindy, "but you better not get us killed because of it."

Cory always felt very uncomfortable whenever Cindy got upset at him. Though Cory never outwardly admitted it, he had already admitted to himself that he does in fact like Cindy. He had liked her ever since he first saw her when he joined the enclave. Her long beautiful blond hair and her dark tanned skin made her very attractive in Cory's eyes. She also always dressed very well (for a member of the Resistance) she never seemed dirty or dressed in anything that she considered "raggedy." Everyone at the enclave knew that Cory liked her; it was obvious by the way he looked at her, or sometimes didn't look at her. Everyone knew about his loss earlier in his life and secretly agreed that no other guys would try their luck with her, so that Cory would evidently end up with her someday. However, Cory never took a chance and asked her out, he has always had something that he considered a higher priority on his mind. Like survival or his idol Gordon Freeman. Cory figured that maybe somewhere along the journey ahead of him, he'd find time to talk to Cindy about his feelings.

The three of them continued out of the alley and onto the dark streets. Only the moonlight kept the streets from being completely pitch black because the streetlights were off. The generator had obviously been struck by one of the many shells that had previously assaulted the city. They kept off to the side and never out in the middle of the street for fear of being caught by the local Mets or any Combine out for an after-sweep.

"The train station is only about another mile north. We should find it in about twenty minutes if there are no distractions," said Cindy.

"You make it sound like you expect distractions," replied Leon.

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worse," said Cory, almost to himself.

"What was that?" asked Leon.

"Nothing," said Cory.

"I definitely heard something," replied Leon.

"I told you I didn't say anything," said Cory almost angrily.

"No, I mean I think I heard Combine radio chatter," said Leon in a nervous voice.

"I think I heard it too," said Cindy.

They all stopped and stood still to listen. They could all hear it clearly. There were obviously Combine troops very nearby. The noise was coming in a destroyed building nearby, probably a cleanup squad.

Cory pulled Cindy and Leon close and whispered to them both, "we're going to have to be extra quiet here, if they find us its all over."

They slowly crept over the ruble in the streets caused by the shell attack. Leon took the lead followed by Cindy, then Cory. When they approached the building where the noise was coming from, Leon signaled his friends to stop. He peaked through a hole in the side of the building made by a shell. Inside he saw a small squad of three Combine troops standing around a trashcan fire for warmth. They were camping out in the destroyed building for the night. Leon could see the shell that destroyed the wall, and next to it laid several dead headcrabs. The Combine must have killed the headcrabs and decided to rest here for the night.

Leon made a very helpful observation. One of the four Combine soldiers was not near the trashcan fire; rather he was more off to the side by himself in the dark. Leon figured this was a golden opportunity. He approached Cory quietly and said, "Give me your crowbar."

"What? Why?" asked Cory with intense curiosity.

"Just give it to me," said Leon.

"You're not going to kill them all by yourself," said Cindy.

"I'm not going to," said Leon casually.

"Tell me why I should give it to you," demanded Cory.

"So I can get us something better to protect ourselves with,"

This caught Cory's attention. He sensed that Leon honestly felt that he could accomplish whatever it was he had planned. It wasn't often that Leon was ever sure about himself, but Cory knew that he was sure about himself in this matter. Cory handed his crowbar to Leon.

"What are you doing!" said Cindy in a loud whisper.

"I trust him, let him do what he's going to do," said Cory.

"No, he's going to get us killed," said Cindy.

"Cindy, if you were ever to trust me, I'm asking you do it now," said Leon in his own defense.

"Fine, but if something happens, Cory and I aren't coming to help," said Cindy in her stern voice.

Leon held the crowbar at his side as he entered the building through the side hole. He kept to the shadows, which kept him nearly invisible. There was only a small circle of light that came from the trashcan fire; the rest of the room was pitch black being that there was no moonlight to compensate. Leon stealthily kept to the shadows and only walked on the sides of his feet, minimizing the noise he made. He crept up behind the Combine soldier that was alone in the dark. Leon kept his eyes on the soldier's waist holster, which contained a USP Match 9mm handgun. His mind never deviated from his set plan as he kept the single soldier between himself and the other two. Once he was at a striking distance from the soldier, he took the tipped end of the crowbar and used it as a harpoon as he thrust it into the back of the soldier's neck. Leon used such force that the tip came out the front of the soldier's throat, he'd die from blood loss in only a few moments. This caught the attention of the other two soldiers; they drew their weapons and opened fire in Leon's direction. The soldier's body served as a human shield for Leon as he held it up using the crowbar. He wasted no time reaching for the soldier's gun with his other hand and returning fire on the other soldiers. He fired several rounds, and then all gunfire stopped. He had successfully cleared the room of all the Combine soldiers.

Leon caught his friends by surprise when he emerged from the building a survivor with blood soaking his cloths. Leon was also now carrying a handgun. "There are two more in there for you two, sorry but these guys didn't carry any spare ammo."

Fear and surprise could be seen in Cindy's eyes, but something else was in Cory's. Jealousy, Cory was jealous that Leon had just done what Cory had wanted to do for so long now. Regardless, Cory climbed to his feet and entered the building. Inside he found the bodies of the Combine, which Leon had slain. He approached the two bodies near the fire and stripped each of them of their firearms. He exited the building and handed one of the weapons to Cindy.

"Thank you Cory, I really didn't want to see what was in there," said Cindy honestly.

"No problem," said Cory, "can I have my crowbar back now Leon?"

"Sure if you still want it, you do have a gun now you know," replied Leon.

"I know, but what happens when the ammo runs out? Then all I have is a fancy club, and I'd rather have my crowbar then a fancy club," said Cory with a hint of anger.

"Fine," said Leon, handing the crowbar back to Cory. Cory took it and attached it to one of the belt loops on the side of his pants; he kept his gun in hand though, never knowing when he'd need it fast.

"The train station isn't too far from here guys, we should get going so we can be there before morning," said Cindy.


	4. Chapter 3: The Station

Chapter 3: The Station

Cory, Cindy, and Leon stood in the courtyard that preceded the City-15 train station, all of them with their weapons in hand (and Cory with his crowbar still attached to his belt loop). The station had been desolate ever since transportation to City-17 had been cut off, and everyone knew that the railroad tunnels had a headcrab infestation. Occasionally, worker crews had been lost to the headcrabs in the tunnels, and so had some security crews sent in to rescue them. The three of them knew this meant it was very likely they'd come across some headcrab zombies.

"So, we're really going to take the tunnels?" asked Leon nervously.

"Yup, it's the fastest, safest way to City-17," replied Cindy.

"Safe? It's probably knee-deep in headcrabs and zombies," stated Cory.

"Like I said, the safest way. Even if it is knee deep with the bastards, it's still safer then walking the streets or the highways. The Combine and the Mets must be jumpy now if they were willing to shell out our entire block," said Cindy.

"Well, lets quit stalling and get to it," said Cory, with a hint that he was slightly unwilling to set foot into the railroad tunnels.

The three of them entered the train station. The rotating door in the front was so rusted that Cory cut his hand trying to open it. Luckily for him, it was only a scratch. The room was rectangular with light only seeping through the skylight in the roof. A perfect square of light was in the center of the room; it was as if the lights shined down from heaven itself. The light also exposed something grotesque. In the center of the lit square was a body. It was the body of a commoner in a businessman's suit that was now soaked in blood. His face couldn't be seen because a headcrab had attached itself to his face.

Cory motioned his friend to stop moving as he pointed in the direction of the body. Cory noticed that the mans veins were already bulging; the headcrab had been attached for quite some time. Leon and Cindy drew their weapons, expecting the man to climb to his feet and attack.

"No! We can't spare our ammo. Don't shoot!" said Cory in a loud whisper.

"We also can't spare our lives, which is it going to be? The bullets or our lives?" protested Leon.

"It'll be both if we don't conserve our ammo, we don't have any spare clips," said Cindy, agreeing with Cory.

"What are we supposed to do then? Our only alternative is Cory's crowbar and we only have one of those," said Leon angrily. He was not in the mood to lose his life for what he thought was a stupid decision.

"We'll have to make do, our guns are reserved for the Combine," said Cory.

"Shit, look alive, he's getting up," said Cindy.

The man with the business suit was climbing to his feet. Cory, Cindy, and Leon backed away. Cory had the crowbar; it was his duty to put the creature down. He tucked his gun into the back of his pants and brought his crowbar to the ready.

The zombie began to scream. Though it was muffled by the headcrab, it still sent a horrible sensation down Cory's spine. The scream made Cory feel intimidated, he felt as if this was a fight he couldn't win. It was then that a voice in his head decided to speak up.

(You didn't come this far to stop now. Gordon Freeman is out there, and your going to meet him, your journey will not end here…"

The zombie was only a few feet away from Cory now. He knew that if he let the zombie take the first strike he'd be done for. He had to take the fight to the zombie. Using the hook end of the crowbar, he approached the zombie and swung with all his might into the zombie's side, breaking a few ribs. The zombie however, did not stop. It kept walking.

(Try something new…)

Cory brought the crowbar up and over his head, ready for another powerful swing. The hook flew down with great force and into the zombies shoulder. Tainted yellow blood spewed onto Cory and his crowbar. The zombie kept moving. Cory took the pointed end of the crowbar and harpooned the zombie straight in the chest, where he had assumed the heart would be. Finally, the zombie fell to the ground.

Cory's victorious feelings died immediately when he saw that the headcrab was attempting to detach itself from its host. Cory didn't want to deal with it once it was mobile, so he impaled it in mere seconds. The crowbar went straight through the headcrab and into the tile floor. When he removed the crowbar, it was obvious the headcrab was dead.

(Congratulations to the victor!)

When the adrenalin slowed down, the ringing in Cory's ears stopped. When that happened he noticed a clapping noise. He had been given a round of applause from his two friends.

"Good show! Couldn't have done it better myself," said Leon.

"Your on zombie duty from now on Cory," said Cindy, admiring Cory.

Cory was going to thank them, but more wailing noises interrupted him. There were more zombies present. Leon and Cindy scrambled into the lit rectangle in the center of the room. It sounded as if there were several of them. Cory was already fatigued from the previous fight, he'd need his friend's assistance in this one, and luckily both Leon and Cindy knew this.

The three of them waited in the light in a triangular formation for their enemies to emerge from the darkness. They moved in a circle, waiting for the very first zombie to step forward.

"There!" yelled Cindy.

"Aim for the head!" said Cory, tossing the crowbar to Cindy. Cindy gracefully caught the crowbar and ran forward to the very edge where the light met darkness. It was there that Cory witnesses Cindy whack a zombie in the head several times quickly, downing it fast.

Leon suddenly sprinted forth into the darkness as well, speechless. Leon was unarmed, and he was still attempting to fight the zombies.

(Help him out you chicken shit.)

Cory rushed to help his unarmed friend, but fell to his knees after only a few steps. He was too tired from the previous fight; he had moved to fast and became lightheaded. Cory felt that he was going to pass out. He couldn't risk the possibility of losing one of his closest friends though, he willed himself to his feet.

He saw that Leon was fighting a group of about three zombies with nothing but his fists and feet. He was holding his own pretty well, but Cory knew it wouldn't last. When he glanced back at Cindy, he saw she was holding off a single zombie. Cory figured she could hold her own for a few seconds.

"Cindy! Crowbar!" yelled Cory.

Cindy understood the situation even though she was in the heat of combat. She tossed the weapon in Cory's direction. Cory didn't waste any time catching it and rushing to Leon's aid. Cory came up behind Leon and saw that he had caught a zombie in a headlock and successfully broken its neck. As the body fell to the floor Leon stomped on the headcrab to make sure it wouldn't spring to life.

One of the remaining two zombies was coming up behind Leon, and Cory took this opportunity to swat the zombie behind its legs, bringing it to its knees. When it fell to its knees Cory sunk the pointed end into its skull, killing the zombie and the headcrab. When Cory looked in Leon's direction, he saw that he was struggling with the last zombie.

"Leon!" yelled Cory. When Leon looked in Cory's direction, he tossed the crowbar at him. Leon missed the catch and the crowbar slid across the floor right by him. The zombie slapped its hands on top of Leon's shoulders and sunk its fingernails into his back. Leon fell to his knees and screamed in pain. The time for messing around was over; this was getting serious. Cory drew his handgun and took careful aim at the zombie; he wanted to make sure he hit it in the head with only one shot for fear of wasting ammo. The front sight was pointed directly at the zombie's head; Cory took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked.

Cory noticed the guns safety was accidentally switched on. He switched it back into the firing position and retook aim. Without hesitation, the moment the front sight was lined up with the zombies head, Cory again pulled the trigger. A defining explosion was heard as Cory put a round right into the headcrab controlling the zombie. It fell instantly.

Leon removed the creature's hands from his shoulders. He was bleeding a little, but it didn't look serious, at leas not to Cory. Leon climbed to his feet, and did something that Cory was not expecting; Leon drew his gun and pointed it directly in Cory's direction.

Cory threw his hands into the air, wondering why Leon would betray him. "Whoa what are you doing man?" said Cory.

Leon did not reply; he only fired his weapon. It was at this point that time stopped for Cory. He felt that he could see the bullet slowly gliding in his direction. Being trapped in time, helpless, all he could do was stand and watch and wait. The bullet flew closer and closer, until it passed right by Cory's head. He could hear its zing as it passed.

Time resumed to its natural state.

Cory looked at Leon. Leon did not fire a second round. Cory looked behind him, and noticed that this wasn't a backstabbing attempt. What Cory saw was Cindy, crying as a zombie fell on its back right next to her. Leon had put a bullet in its headcrab before it had a chance to seriously harm Cindy.

Cory looked back at Leon, feeling like an asshole for ever suspecting that Leon would pointlessly betray him. Leon lowered his weapon.

"Did you think I was going to shoot you?" asked Leon.

"No, you just kind of scared me that's all," replied Cory.

"So you did think I was going to shoot you, did you forget about Cindy over there? You took her crowbar and left her to fight hand to hand? What's wrong with you? And besides, you know how good a shot I am, I never miss," said Leon slightly enraged.

"You thought Leon was going to shoot you Cory?" asked Cindy, still in tears.

"No I didn't!" insisted Cory.

"Listen, I guess it's okay if you did, I mean what's a guy supposed to think when his friend points a gun at him?" said Leon.

"But I didn't think you would!" said Cory.

"Fine, whatever, lets just get out of here before anymore zombies show up," said Leon.

Cory walked over to where the crowbar had slid and picked it up, reattaching it to his belt loop. After that, he approached Cindy who was now sitting on the floor sobbing.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" asked Cory.

"It bit me, its not deep though don't worry," said Cindy.

"Your lucky Cindy, if these were like the zombies from the movies, you'd be fucked. Luckily for you, people only turn into zombies if a headcrab gets on their head. You should be grateful," said Cory convincingly.

"I guess your right," said Cindy, still sobbing.

"Please don't cry Cindy, you know how it makes me feel," said Cory.

"No, how does it make you feel?" asked Cindy.

"C'mon guys, we got to go, the suns coming up and I want to make it to the other side of the tunnels before it goes down again," yelled Leon.

Cory glanced at Leon, then back at Cindy. Cory was searching for the correct words to use but couldn't find them. Instead he reached out his hand to help Cindy to her feet. She took it willingly.

"Lets head out," she said.


	5. Chapter 4: The Tunnels

Chapter 4: The Tunnels

There they stood, in front of the entrance to the railroad tunnels. It was abandoned so there was no worrying about trains approaching as they traveled. Their timing couldn't have been better, because now that the sun has come up the tunnels weren't pitch black. The occasional escape holes in the roof that were each 100 yards in between each other provided plenty of light from the surface.

All three of them stared into the gaping entrance. Parts of the tunnel were flooded with toxic sludge that would have to be avoided, but even worse, parts of the tunnels were headcrab and zombie infested. Luckily for them, however, the immediate entry point seemed clear of toxicity and infestation.

"This tunnel leads to City-17, it should be a days walk," said Cindy, "we should start now if we want to make it there before darkness falls."

Even after that being said, none of them moved. They were all frightened beyond measure of going through the tunnels on foot. They wouldn't move until one of them took the first step, and no one was willing to take that first step.

The voice in the back of Cory's head arose again, taking center stage.

(There's no pain in death, so what are you afraid of?)

The voice made a good argument. Cory took a deep breath, and held it. He began walking forward alone. Leon and Cindy stayed behind awhile to watch him enter. As Cory got deeper into the tunnel, his footsteps began to echo louder and louder. After Cory was several yards ahead of the, Cindy and Leon both broke into a sprint after him.

The three of them walked for several minutes silently when it finally became too much for Cindy to tolerate.

"We need to start a conversation," she said shyly.

"About what?" asked Leon, "Doesn't seem like there's much to talk about."

"Sure there is, Cory, what was it you were saying back in the station?" said Cindy hoping to spark a conversation. Whether it was a friendly or unfriendly one didn't matter to her, she just needed to hear voices of other people before she started hearing voices in her head.

"You know, I just don't like seeing girls cry, that all," said Cory. It was too bad for him that he was a horrible liar. His tone of voice alone made it obvious that he was holding something back. Cindy knew this.

"No, that's not going to fly with me, tell me what's really going on," demanded Cindy. Deep down she knew the Cory liked her, she was 100 positive of this, she just wanted to hear Cory say it for once. She felt she liked him too, but she never said anything because she knew so little about Cory and his past that she thought it would seem childish for her to admit she liked him.

"You going to answer her Cory?" asked Leon after a few moments of silence.

"There's nothing to say," said Cory.

"Fine have it your way then," said a slightly irritated Leon.

"Well, why don't you tell me more about yourself then Cory?" asked Cindy.

"What do you want to know?" replied Cory.

"Well, what was your childhood like?" asked Cindy trying to discover more about her secret crush.

"You don't want to ask him that," said Leon with his stern, "you'd better do as I say," tone of voice.

"What? Why not? I'm curious and I want to know," said Cindy, not taking the hint.

"Ask Leon about his past I don't feel like talking right now," said Cory, suddenly filled with sadness with the sudden memory of his dead family. He really wasn't in the mood to remember the bloody, bullet riddled corpses of his parents and sister.

"Fine, be that way. Leon, you feel like talking?" asked Cindy; distraught that she was unable to extract information from Cory. She hoped that if she could get Leon talking, maybe Cory would feel more comfortable sharing some information.

"Why? So you can pretend to be interested?" said Leon, seeing right through Cindy's plan. He didn't like being used as a tool.

"No I really want to know more about you," said Cindy, lying.

"Fine," said Leon, playing along with Cindy's plan. "My mother died giving birth to me and my dad was a drunk. Once the Combine came and took over, I saw it as my chance to do something I've always wanted to do but couldn't."

"What was that and why couldn't you do it before?" asked Cindy, trying to keep Leon talking.

"I wanted to kill my dad. When he got drunk he used to beat me up. That's kind of where I learned to fight, defending myself against a drunken hulk," said Leon. He would have liked to pretend to be fighting back tears, but the fact of the matter was he couldn't remember the last time he cried.

"Did you really kill you dad?" asked Cindy. She found herself genuinely interested now; she wasn't faking anymore.

"Yea, it was the highlight of my life. I used the USMC knife he gave me for my thirteenth birthday," said Leon, "after that I dropped his body off in front of the Mets' station, they had no interest in finding his killer."

Cindy was suddenly feeling a bit frightened of Leon, and a bit closer at the same time. She knew this was probably something he didn't tell everyone (or at least she hoped he didn't go around telling everyone as if he was proud of it).

"I don't believe it, you must have had a hard time growing up alone," said Cindy.

"That's what everyone assumes, I actually think I did better off alone," said Leon.

"Well, thank you for sharing, does anyone else want to take a turn?" said Cindy, now staring Cory dead in the eyes.

"Nope, look ahead," said Cory, removing his crowbar from his belt loop.

The three of them had unknowingly just turned a corner in the tunnels. Cory must have been the only one really paying attention because as they turned the corner, directly in front of them were several zombies wandering aimlessly in circles.

"I count six," said Cory.

"We got another problem, look," said Cindy, raising her finger and pointing at the toxic sludge that laid to the far right of the tunnel. It didn't totally block their passage, but it lessened their maneuverability should they get into a major fight.

"Fuck, look at that one," said Leon pointing out that one of the zombie stood out from the rest. This particular zombie was being controlled by three poisonous headcrabs, rather then the normal ones. Poisonous headcrabs are black, much skinnier then normal ones, and are twice as deadly. They carried a poison that, if not treated with an antidote within twenty-four hours, would be deadly. The poison was delivered with a single bite.

Leon and Cindy drew their guns, but Cory kept his crowbar at the ready. It would be suicide to challenge a poisonous zombie to a crowbar fight, but Cory could deal with the normal zombies while Leon and Cindy take their shots at the poisonous one.

"Okay, you guys ready? I'll hold off the normal ones and you two pick at the poisonous one," said Cory, coordinating his plan of action. "Ready, set, go!"

Cory dashed forwarded and spearheaded the closest zombie in its gut with the harpoon end of the crowbar. After withdrawing it, he started to take steps backwards as he continued to whack the zombie several times with the hook of the crowbar. After only a few steps and many attacks, the first zombie went down.

As the zombie fell to the ground Cory heard continuous gunfire break out from just behind him. Leon and Cindy finally opened fire on the poisonous zombie. Cory was going to start one his next kill, but he noticed the headcrab from the first zombie was already half done detaching itself. Cory didn't have time for a creative kill so he just stomped on it with his boot.

Cory looked up from the dead zombie, the others had come closer now, and something even more dangerous was happening. The poisonous zombie had reached over and detached one of its three headcrabs, and was getting ready to throw it right at Cory.

They didn't have any antidotes on them for a bite from a poisonous headcrab; Cory couldn't afford to get bitten. Cory got his crowbar ready to swing like a baseball bat, ready to defend himself. The zombie tossed the headcrab with great force. The headcrab glided in Cory's direction, but then altered direction in a haze of tainted blood. The headcrab had been shot out of mid air (and Cory knew it was Leon who took the shot) and the headcrabs body landed right next to Cory.

Cory glanced back in Leon's direction and lipped the word "thanks". After that he continued onward with the fight at hand. He charged the next closest zombie as Leon and Cindy continued their hail of bullets. Cory flung the hook from below up into the face of the zombie. In so doing, he pried the headcrab off in one blow. The headcrab died instantly, and so did the zombie. The moment the body fell to the ground, so did the poisonous zombie, it had finally taken one too many bullets.

Only three zombies remained, and Cory signaled his friends to each take one. Cory approached his enemy with his crowbar, Leon with his fists, and Cindy with her gun. Cory wondered why Leon wasn't using his gun as well, but when he saw the gun tucked in the front of his pants with the slide locked back, he knew that Leon had used all his ammo.

Cory slammed the hook into his zombie's head. Not only did it pierce the headcrab, but also the human's skull beneath it. This was not enough to stop the zombie, but it was enough to force a horrible wail out of it. Cory removed the crowbar and repeated his previous attack. In the zombie's weakness, Cory took this chance to shove the zombie into the toxic sludge, killing it for good.

Leon was warming up on his boxing techniques with his zombie. As slow as the zombie was, this was no challenge to Leon. Leon kept a hail of fists flying at the zombies face. He was hitting the zombie so hard that wounds were beginning to open and yellow blood was flying all over Leon. This fueled him to hit even harder then before. He kept attacking and never let up. After the zombie obviously was close to not being able to take anymore, Leon maneuvered around the zombie, wrapped his hands around its throat, and broke its neck. When the host body fell to the ground dead, he stomped on the headcrab.

Cindy had her gun, but was obviously skeptical to use it. She must have used lots of her ammo already. Instead, she (as Cory would put it) used her gun as a fancy club. She held it backwards by the barrel and used the handle to beat the zombie in the pressure point where the shoulder meets the neck. The zombie keeled to its knees, to which Cindy swiftly brought the gun back to a firing position and pointed it in the zombies face. A single shot, and the zombie fell dead. The slide on Cindy's gun locked back just like Leon's, she too was now without ammo.

The three of them stood among the wreckage they created, not one of them with a scratch on them. They had entered battle and will walk away victorious, only with a little less ammo then before. City-17 laid only a few hundred yards in front of them, and once they'd make it there, the search for Gordon Freeman would begin.


End file.
